Mozer: College ROTCs help make college education attainable for some

Donyeill MozerOther Voices

Right now, in the state of Maryland, the best way to predict our youth’s success is their parents’ financial status. A college education can help change that statistic. Instead of an educational funnel we need to create a voluminous cylinder.

There is talent in everyone. Many students are late bloomers. Many are suffering from high levels of stress. New discoveries in neuroscience tell us that kids growing up in homes with high levels of stress, from poor parental care, suffer in the classroom because of neglect. This neglect causes children learning disabilities that can be reversed through the services and care from society. There are many jewels in these rough areas of our society that just need a helping hand out of their predicament, so they can flourish.

There is a quote out there that says if we give 100,000 rich and poor kids the same food, clothing, education and protection class lines would disappear. In a capitalist society, how do we do this? We must take advantage of the opportunities at hand. We need more of our youth getting a higher education. Even if it is Cs, that is OK. What do we call a West Pointer that gets Cs when they graduate? A lieutenant. What do we call a doctor that gets Cs in medical school? A doctor. We know that with the right nurturing, no matter the ethnicity, young people can succeed.

Many young people are experiencing an unbelievable amount of toxic stress. Many children are living with parents with mental illness, alcoholism and drug addiction. This is creating an environment of abuse and neglect. Children from low economic backgrounds need a ton of support to succeed. I believe we owe it to our young people to have an opportunity for higher education.

Gen. Colin Powell graduated from college with a 2.0 GPA. He was a late bloomer that received great mentorship once he went into the Army. I am not suggesting we lower standards. I am saying to bring the mediocre students along with us. There are enough opportunities for everyone. Do we not love our youth enough to do this?

We need the citizens, teachers and professors that care. It is that simple. We should not want to see anyone fail. We as a society need to do everything we can to help our youth succeed. Some of these young people need a lot of mentorship and counsel. Many of our young people are not as fortunate as some of their peers. They don’t have parents or guardians that can teach them what right looks like.

If you see a kid that has it all together, nine times out of 10, they have good parental mentorship at their home. These are the fortunate and privileged. We as a community must bring the rest along with us. They need our help. We must not write off our youth. We must give them unending support. We owe this to them. They are our future. There are very smart kids in our communities that deserve the opportunity to get a higher education. These young people need support to as they attempt to maneuver through the process of college applications and the admissions process.

I don’t know if educators that come from middle class homes are blind to poor people’s problems and how these problems affect the students from these poor economic households. We as educators cannot be blind to poor people’s problems. We cannot teach these young people if we do not know their backgrounds or recognize their struggles. They cannot help they were born in an unequal society that is not giving them the tools to compete. What are we doing to help children from poor households get the best higher education possible?

Army ROTC at colleges across America make it possible for high school students with at least a 2.5 GPA and 1000 SAT score to compete for four-year college scholarships. Last year, Army ROTC gave out over $300 million in scholarship money to college students across America. Additionally, military recruiters across the country make it possible for young people to get money for college by enlisting in the military. To find more information about these opportunities check out the www.goarmy.com/rotc or stop by your local military recruiters’ office.

Lt. Col. Donyeill Mozer is a lieutenant colonel and the Army ROTC Department Head at McDaniel College, the first African-American to hold the position in the ROTC program’s 99 year history. This article is his opinion and not of McDaniel College or the U.S. Army.